Chapter 4

06/23/2010

Chapter 4:

Amelia sat on the well-cushioned sofa staring into the fireplace, trying to ensure that she wasn't dreaming. The others had walked off to explore the home before taking time to acquaint themselves with the inviting forest. Malacai had stayed behind with Amelia, seeming to be waiting for her to say something. For a moment, she sat staring at him. She had never simply sat back and studied him before.

Malacai happened to be a very attractive man. He was very dark skinned with chocolate eyes, and looked to be around the age of thirty. He was tall and had muscles so big you could see them through his shirt. Amelia wondered why she had not seen him try to date or even talk to women. She knew he had the personality and body for it, but she was sure there were some deeper issues going on with her father-figure.

“Are you okay, Amelia? I know this is a lot to take in, but I'm positive you will grow to love it,” Malacai said when he finally caught her eye.

“I'm okay. I'm just so happy that I don't know what to do with myself. I guess I'm trying to take it all in for the moment,” she replied, with a dreamy expression on her face. “Where are we anyway? All you told us was that we were going further east. I'm assuming we're somewhere near Tennessee.”

“Well, you're close. We're in Virginia and this is a small town called Kinderfeld. We are about fifteen minutes from town if we drive, but this house is pretty much out on its own. That's what I loved about it, the privacy and quiet.” He said, glancing out the window.

“Virginia, huh? Never expected to live in such a small town. I do love it though. I've never been anywhere that felt this right before,” Amelia said. She too began to daydream while looking out of the window. She couldn't have been happier than she was at that moment. She felt that it was where she belonged.

After a few minutes, Malacai got up and walked into the study. Amelia realized she hadn't eaten in hours and she wondered if anyone else was ready to go hunting yet. She walked up the stairs to the second floor where she found Cheyenne in a rather large room that had an elegant bedroom suit. It consisted of a king size bed, a dresser, and a night stand. It was made from cherry colored wood and seemed to be made specifically for Cheyenne. Amelia saw her lying across the bed reading a book, and she knew Chey was where she wanted to be.

She walked into the room quietly and jumped beside Cheyenne on the bed. “Whatcha doing?” She said, smiling.

“Jesus, Amelia! You might want to give somebody some notice before you sneak into their room, next time!” Cheyenne replied, as she playfully pushed Amelia away.

“You ready to eat yet? I am, and I want you to come explore with me,” she said as she took Cheyenne's book to read the summary.

“Okay, just give me a minute to tie up my hair and we can go. Meet you downstairs?” Cheyenne asked as she got up to go to her mirror.

“Sounds good, I need to go see what kind of room I have, anyway. See you in a few,” she replied and walked out the door into the hallway.

She didn't have to travel far, because she saw a small white piece of paper taped to a door down the hall that simply read, “Amelia.” She snatched the paper down and turned the knob. She walked into the room and instantly fell in love. There was a large bed in the corner and it was covered with a midnight blue comforter. It was full of soft pillows in different shades of dark blue. On the wall beside it, a large fairy had been painted. It sat on a lovely flower and had a playful smile. She grinned from ear to ear as she walked to the other side of the room, looking into her walk-in closet that already contained all of her clothing. She decided that Malacai must have had all of their things shipped here before they arrived.

She glanced into her bathroom that undoubtedly connected her to Cheyenne's room with an adjoining door on the other side. She took one more glance and walked out into the hall and down the stairs to meet her best friend. When she got to the bottom floor, she found Anna standing with Joel. Cheyenne apparently had not made it downstairs yet.

“Hey guys!” Amelia said cheerfully as she reached them by the front door.

“Hello,” Anna snapped back.

Amelia hardly ever spoke to Anna anymore because she never knew what kind of mood she might be in. For three months prior to that, it seemed like she couldn't control her emotions. Therefore, Amelia tried to avoid any confrontation as much as possible.

“Hey, Amelia. How do you like your room?” Joel asked, trying to overshadow Anna's short response.

“I love it! When I get back, I'm going to start organizing,” Amelia replied excitedly.

“Where are you going?” Anna questioned, with a grimace on her face, as Amelia opened the front door to peek outside.

Amelia smiled at her, ignoring her tone, and said, “Cheyenne and I are going to explore the forest and we're both famished. You wanna come?”

“That sounds gr-“ Joel started, when Anna cut him off.

“No, we're going to go on our own a little later, thanks. she said.

“Hey guys! You ready to go, Amelia?” Cheyenne said, bouncing down the stairs. She had changed into a light gray and pink jogging suit, and had pulled her long braided hair into a pony-tail. She had skin the shade of caramel and hazel eyes that accented her alluring facial features.

“Yeah, let's get out of here,” Amelia said calmly.

They began to walk towards the door and exited before Anna could make any more snide remarks. Once they were on the lawn, Amelia and Cheyenne cut across the yard to enter the forest from behind the house.

“How did you like your room?” Cheyenne asked, as they forced their way past trees that had grown close together, blocking the entrance into the forest.

“It was simply amazing! I can't wait to get started unpacking,” Amelia replied, imagining the many things she wanted to do to her new home.

Cheyenne laughed and grabbed Amelia's hand and they whisked their way through the forest.

Amelia had never felt so free. The wind felt so good on her face as they sprinted through the trees. She could hear all of the creatures crawling around in the dark. Lucky for her, she had incredible night vision and extra-sensitive hearing, so she never had any problem locating her prey. All she had to do then was listen; and she would be feeding within five minutes.

Amelia began to slow down at the same time as Cheyenne, indicating that they had both heard the same sound. They paused and went completely silent as to assess where the rustling had come from. Amelia lowered her body and got ready to run.

“This one is yours,” Cheyenne said quietly.

Amelia waited a few more moments, needing to figure out exactly which direction to go, and finally saw the glowing red eyes shining in the darkness. She took off and headed straight for it, a large rabbit trying to reach safety. She pounced and held it down for a moment.

“I won't hurt you,” she whispered as her canines extended. She sank her teeth deep into the rabbit's throat and began to drink.

For Amelia, there was nothing like the thirst. Once it started, anyone could turn into a killer if they didn't quench it as soon as possible. She had only drunk human blood once in her entire life, but after that day she vowed never to do it again. She spent her young life trying to figure out other ways of keeping her cravings in check. Once she and Cheyenne became close, they did everything in their power to ensure that they would never have to feed on a human again. They found that if they fed on animals, they had to drink more often, but they never had to completely kill anything or anyone.

Once Amelia felt the rabbit's heartbeat slowing, she retracted her fangs and let the rabbit run free. Amelia started looking around, her senses even sharper than they were previous to her meal. Cheyenne was kneeling down about one hundred feet from her, preparing to release the squirrel she had managed to find.

Once the small animal was released, Amelia rejoined Cheyenne and they began to sprint again through the forest. Even though they were steadily running, Amelia felt like they weren't going anywhere. Everything looked exactly the same, yet she enjoyed every moment of it.

“I smell water!” Amelia said, raising her voice over the sound of the wind. Water being in the form of a river or lake in the middle of a dark forest was one of Amelia's greatest weaknesses. She loved the smell of the fresh water and felt completely cleansed after a short dip with the fish.

As they began to navigate towards the water, Cheyenne slowed down her pace and Amelia decreased hers as well.

“What's wrong?” Amelia asked, wondering about the sudden urge Cheyenne had to walk.

“Oh, nothing. I just get tired of passing everything by all the time. I wanted to walk and enjoy the sight while I can,” she replied, letting her voice trail off.

They ambled through the dark for a few more moments and finally arrived at a large, sparkling lake. Amelia was in love. She immediately removed her cell phone from her pocket and jumped into the inviting water. She dove into what felt like warm bath water. She stayed under for a few minutes, observing the wildlife in the lake, and resurfaced shoving water in Cheyenne's direction.

“Get in! It's so nice!” Amelia said, hoping Cheyenne would join her.

“You know I can't get my hair wet, I just got it done!” Cheyenne replied, fiddling with a braid that had fallen into her face during the run.

Amelia giggled at her and shot back under the water. She could see herself doing this every day; it was the best way for her to cleanse her heart and soul. She took a quick peek at Cheyenne and saw her lounging on the bank, gazing at the star-filled sky. She looked so happy and at ease. Amelia knew this was the beginning of the rest of their lives; the new chapter in which they had all started together.

Amelia lingered in the water for another few minutes and reluctantly stepped out onto the bank. She helped Cheyenne up off of the grass, grasped her hand, and they walked towards their new home together.